Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a car accident in Kenya late Sunday, February 11, we learned from a police source. He was 24 years old.
His coach, Gervais Hakizimana, was also killed in the accident, which occurred on a road between Eldoret and Kaptagat in western Kenya, in the heart of a high-altitude region known as a military base. training for long-distance runners. A third occupant of the vehicle was injured and hospitalized, according to police.
Kelvin Kiptum was the first man to run the marathon in under two hours and one minute, setting the record at two hours and thirty-five seconds at the Chicago Marathon in October, beating that of his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge. He was in the midst of preparation for the Paris Olympic Games.
